Bells ringing in the air
by my insides are blue
Summary: "Besides, what's Christmas without family?" - NextGen drabble collection / Christmas themed / For the Twelve Days of Pottermas Challenge on NGF / iii.Scorpius Malfoy
1. Chapter 1

**Bells ringing in the air**

**a/n:** This is for the Twelve Days of Pottermas Challenge on NGF forum. There will be twelve drabbles, each featuring one or two of Next Gen characters. And all of these will be Christmas themed. Even though I know this is a little late for a Christmas fic, but who cares.

Enjoy reading! :)

* * *

_Day 1 - December 25, 2012_

_Prompts: Partridge, Pear, Tree_

_Character/s: Lorcan and Lysander Scamander_

* * *

The queerly decorated tree at the center of the grand living room was not the only indication that the house belonged to the Scamanders. There were odd tidbits lying around here and there as well.

A row of plotted plants was placed across one side of the living room. The small plants, each of them a weird shape, looked nothing like the normal European plants that a normal household would have. If a person went too close, the plants gave out a bad stench.

A tiny plastic bird, with wings and too large features, hung from the ceiling. A range of pictures and books decorated the shelves. There were odd titles like _Unnamed Creatures of the Wild by Sarah Burke_ and _Nargles and Snorkacks by X. Lovegood_.

The twin boys inhabiting the house were used to these oddities. They had grown up, listening to their mother's strange bedtime stories and learning to admire their father's love of creatures.

But after spending two years in Hogwarts, which lacked any of the strangeness lurking in their house, they had learned that not all of their friends believed in weird creatures that haunted mistletoes and stole shoes.

So a few days before Christmas, when the thirteen year old boys came back from Hogwarts for the holidays, they were a tad bit surprised to see the decorations on the large Christmas tree.

Light bulbs of different colors hung from the branches which, when lighted up cast an opalescent quality on the floor. Stars and moons, shining a bright golden colour could be seen stuck on the leaves of the tree amongst the countless light bulbs. And perching on top of the large, colourful tree was a small plastic bird like the one hanging from their ceiling. Except this one was clearly a grey partridge with beautiful wings that looked oddly real.

Lorcan, the elder of the two, raised his eyebrows. "Looks like Mum's got it worse this year."

Lysander shook his head, and said in an exasperated tone, "I can't invite my friends over if that tree is going to stay there."

Lorcan laughed, and plopped down on the couch. "There's nothing you can do about it now, is there?"

"I guess not," he said, mocking disappointment. His mouth was twitching and they both burst out laughing.

"What's so funny, boys?" said a voice from the doorway.

They both looked up to see a tall woman, with shoulder length blonde hair and grey eyes. She was standing just outside the room, staring at them both with a curious expression on her face.

"Oh, nothing at all, Mum," said Lorcan as he got up and strode forward towards her. He gave her a light kiss on the cheek and grinned at her. Lysander, who wasn't as physical with his affection as his brother, just stood apart until his mother came and gave him a big hug.

"What's that?" asked Lysander, tilting his head a little and pointing to something in Luna's hands. She was holding a small round yellow fruit in her palm. He raised his eyebrows at her, and asked, "Is that a pear?"

She shrugged. "I thought it would be nice to have a pear on the Christmas tree. After all, it is a pear tree."

"A partridge on a pear tree?" asked Lorcan, pointing at the bird on the top.

She nodded, and said, in a very logical tone, "The partridge on the pear tree would help to keep the nargles away. Dad showed me this new technique and now, we can hang mistletoes in the house." She beamed up at them at the last sentence, like a little child who had just found his long-lost toy car.

Lorcan and Lysander looked at each other. Some silent amusement passed between them. And then, Lorcan said with another big grin, "Do you need any help hanging it up?" Lysander was holding back a laugh, and he tried hard to look serious.

Luna's smile widened, "I'd love some help, boys."


	2. Chapter 2

**Bells ringing in the air_  
_**

_Day 2 - December 26, 2012_

_Prompts: Two, Turtle, Doves_

_Character/s: Molly Weasley II_

* * *

Southern Greece was a lot different during the holidays than England. For one thing, there was more sunshine and visibly less snow in the winter season. The weather was even soothing and calm. Molly Weasley considered Greece to be much more beautiful during Christmas than England ever was.

When she had learned that she would not be able to return home for Christmas that winter, she wasn't that upset. She knew her family would be disappointed, especially her grandma. But there wasn't anything she could do. Her career demanded too much of her time to spare her any for her family back home.

She thought that as beautiful as Greece was, she could enjoy Christmas very much as well on her own. She would have some quiet time to herself, maybe catch up on her reading, and go out to explore the mysterious Greek streets and restaurants here.

On Christmas Eve, however, the last thing she wanted to do was go out. She collapsed on the armchair in her bedroom, exhausted and worn out from her day at the hospital. The number of injured animals had escalated alarmingly, but thankfully, her shift for the day had ended.

She didn't have the energy to do anything. She tried to think about reading a book, but her thoughts drifted to her family back home.

She wondered if anyone was missing her, and quickly realized that they probably weren't. You hardly missed one of the family members in a Weasley gathering; it was hard to notice who was there and who wasn't.

_They must be having a great time_, she thought. _Grandma must be making her famous fudge for everyone. They all have just arrived, and there must be a lot of bickering going on for the best room in the Burrow. And Lily must be arguing with her Mother to let her turtle stay with her in bed—_

Suddenly, there was a noise from outside. Molly jumped up, and almost fell over. A voice from her doorway made her jump again.

"Careful, Mols. You'll give yourself a heart attack."

She recognized the voice immediately. Looking up, she saw her cousin Louis, standing in her doorway with a big grin on his face. Behind him, she could see another familiar face looming up. Lucy laughed out loud, seeing her position, and pushed through Louis towards her.

She helped her get up and gave her a big hug. Molly was slow to respond. She just stared at them dumbstruck. "What are you guys—"

"Doing here?" said Louis. "We've come to check if you're treating the doves here properly." He smirked, as Lucy gave him a playful shove.

"Oh, don't listen to him," she said, rolling her eyes. "Why do you think we're here? We've come to pick you up. We're going to the Burrow."

"But –wait, what?" Molly's astonished face made both Lucy and Louis crack up.

"We're going! To England. Now, hurry up and toss me anything you need for traveling. I'll fit it inside my bag."

Molly raised her eyebrows this time, obviously demanding a much clearer explanation.

"Ah, Mols!" said Lucy, exasperatedly. "You really think Grandma would let you be away during Christmas? It's the one holiday when we all get together. She told us to come get you because you're just too stupid."

"But I can't! I have to start work just after Christmas," said Molly frowning. "And if there's an emergency tomorrow in the hospital—"

"We've talked to your boss. They're letting you take two days off of work. It's all taken care of," said Louis, smiling mischievously.

Molly knew what he meant, and despite herself, her mouth twitched and she held back a smile. She thought for a moment, and said, "You guys are sure? You _have_ talked to the chief properly?"

Even Lucy grinned at that. "See? You don't mind, do you? You don't want to spend Christmas alone, Mols. Come on!"

"You know, considering that you used magic on my Muggle boss—"

"That's why we're wizards, love," interrupted Louis, with the same smile on his face.

She couldn't help it. She had to admit, the idea sounded tempting. Besides, now that they had 'convinced' her boss, she had two days off work. She could easily leave and come back by then.

She still looked at them skeptically. "And pray tell, how are you guys planning to go to England? Do not tell me we have to fly there on a broomstick on Christmas—"

Louis held up a large sock in his hand and simply said, "Portkey."

"You people are crazy," said Molly and now, _she_ burst out laughing.

"Does that mean you're coming?" asked Lucy, excitedly.

After a moment, Molly said, "Of course I am. Besides, what's Christmas without family?"

* * *

**a/n: this is actually pretty much random. I don't know where it came from. It's nothing related to my headcanon, but this just popped out. It's even longer than I expected. Anyways, please leave a review. :) **


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, this one is also for the category Basic Blaze Box (write a drabble of less than 500 words) in the The Weasley's Wizard Wheezes Competition; and also for Challenge#2 on RSF (Pick one (or more) colour(s) and incorporate it into your fic somehow) with the colours green and grey. **

**word count: 487 words**

**enjoy! :)  
**

* * *

_Day 3 - December 27, 2012_

_Prompts: Three, French, Hens_

_Character/s: Scorpius Malfoy_

* * *

Christmas was not an enjoyable affair for Scorpius Malfoy, as strange as it was. He was not a fan of the holiday, unlike other kids his age.

Since he was three years old, his Mum had forced him into dress robes for their annual Christmas party which the Malfoys' organized every year on Christmas Eve. These parties, usually held in the Malfoy Manor, involved a lot of foreign and unknown people who only spoke French. There were hardly any children around.

Naturally, Scorpius was bored by the end of every one of these parties. Then Christmas morning was spent with his Mum and Dad, opening his countless presents all day, and in the evening his Mother's family would come over for dinner. For years, that was all that Christmas was for him; nothing more special than that.

But sitting here, and listening to Albus and Rose's version of Christmas, he felt an unnatural sort of loneliness.

"Scorpius, you should listen to one of the absolutely silly stories that Uncle George tells us after Christmas dinner. You know once him and our Uncle Fred, who's dead now by the way—"

"Al, you're so insensitive!" Rose huffed. She turned on Scorpius, and continued, "Scor, what he means to say is that our Uncle Fred died in the war. His twin brother, Uncle George still tells us stories about him. He was such a brave man—"

"Rosie, he knows that. I was just going to tell him about the time Uncle George and Uncle Fred let out the hens from the shed and then Grandpa had to—"

"But you've already told him that a million times!"

Scorpius had become used to the bickering of his two best friends, so he tuned out of their conversation.

He didn't want to hear about their million cousins and the fun times they have when they all get together every Christmas. He felt lonely again; he didn't have siblings or cousins, for that matter. But looking at Rose and Al, he wished he did. It would be nice to have fun with someone his own age, for a change.

"Hey, Scorp! Here's a crazy idea," said Albus excitedly. "Why don't you come over for Christmas this year? I can get my Mum to talk to yours, and get you to come over for the holidays. James always invites Greg and Alice to our house. You could come too."

Scorpius was startled. He couldn't imagine how much fun it would be to spend Christmas with his friends and their big and crazy family.

"Really? Are you sure about that?"

Albus nodded enthusiastically, his green eyes sparkling. Rose smiled, and said, "Yeah, it'll be fun if you come."

Scorpius' face broke into a grin. "I'd love to come over. But your Mum has a lot of convincing to do."

"Don't worry about that, mate. She's good at that kind of stuff," said Albus, chuckling.

* * *

**So yeah, the colour thing was just really minor, but grey was actually because of the mention of loneliness and everything. And um, green was already there. **

**I guess this could have been better, but I wrote this in under an hour. ;)  
**


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